Bryce Harper reaches 1,000 RBIs as he and Phillies stay patient, grind out a win

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Editor’s note: We are excited to introduce new Phillies writer Charlotte Varnes, who joins Matt Gelb on the beat. Charlotte previously worked at the Indianapolis Star, where she was named a finalist for the Billie Jean King Award for Excellence in Women’s Sports Coverage. This is one of her first stories for The Athletic.

Two strikes. Two outs. A 0-0 game. A runner in scoring position.

The circumstances in the fifth inning Friday at Citizens Bank Park called for heroics. And Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper played the part — though, like the rest of his season, it looked different than typical Harper superstardom.

It wasn’t a hard-hit ball or a blast to center that punctuated Harper’s night. It was a 65.7 mph bloop single to left field, tied for his slowest-hit ball all season.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates as center fielder Johan Rojas crossed the plate. Harper reached first. His image and a congratulatory message — “Bryce Harper 1,000 RBI” in gold-and-white lettering — spilled across the scoreboard. The fans rose to their feet, clapping and cheering for their star, who delivered as he has so many times in his more than 800 games with the Phillies.

Bryce Harper gives the @Phillies the lead with career RBI No. 1,000 👏 pic.twitter.com/hPmLGomMtc

— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2025

Drive in runs. Get on base. Bring them big moments — like becoming just the 14th MLB player to reach 1,000 RBIs before turning 33 and the 11th player to hit that career milestone in a Phillies uniform.

“Well, that’s who he is,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “You know, when he’s going good, he’s going to fight. And he’s going to be a tough out. He’s going to use the field. He’s going to do a lot of different things. He’s going to put the ball in the seats if you make a mistake. He wants two strikes.”

Harper thrived in those counts Friday, singling twice in two-strike counts during a 3-for-4 night with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs. (He added the second RBI on a first-pitch single in the eighth.) Neither two-strike hit was splashy. But he put the ball in play, a worthy feat during a stretch in which he’ll take “any hits, any way,” he said.

Bryce Harper acknowledges the cheering crowd after his 1,000th career RBI. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

Harper, in his seventh season with the Phillies and 14th in MLB, entered Friday slashing .236/.358/.422 — numbers bumped to .248/.369/.430 by the time the Phillies doled out high-fives close to midnight after an 8-4 comeback win.

His batting average is at its lowest through 44 games since 2018. His OPS (.799) sits well below his career mark of .907.

The explanation, in part, lies in what he’s seeing at the plate. This season he’s seen the lowest rate of fastballs in his career (45.2 percent). Just 41.6 percent of the pitches he’s faced were in the zone — down from 43.3 percent last season and below his career average. So there’s been less to hit, but his chase rate (33.6 percent) has remained about the same as last season.

“Obviously, I’m not where I want to be,” Harper said. “But it’s part of it, and I’ve just got to keep grinding. I’m doing it every day. … I’m putting myself in some bad situations as well — swinging at pitches out of the zone.”

He caught one break Friday, as what looked like a swing on a slider outside the zone was ruled a check-swing — leading him to walk to load the bases and eventually score in the seventh. Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected by third-base umpire John Libka for arguing his check-swing call.

The Phillies grinded, scoring two runs off walks and one via a hit-by-pitch in a four-run seventh. Harper grinded, too, working his way through at-bats and getting on base.

Entering Friday, just 12 hitters had a higher whiff rate on sliders than Harper, making that patient read on the single for his 1,000th RBI — which came on an 81 mph slider from Pirates lefty Andrew Heaney — all the more impressive.

Bryce Harper waits his turn to bat in the fifth inning, when he became the eighth active MLB player with 1,000 RBIs. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

Thomson liked Harper’s at-bats Friday — they’re getting better, he said. It’s slowly showing up on the stat sheet, as Harper slashed .294/.429/.588 with a 1.017 OPS over the five prior games — including a three-hit game Saturday in Cleveland.

Keeping it simple and staying patient on Friday paid off with an ovation.

“Having moments like that are really cool on a personal level, and it’s really cool to be part of that company, that history,” said Harper, who will turn 33 in October. “(Thomson) read some names, and just to be part of that is a really cool moment.”

More than a moment, it was another shiny statistic on an already padded resume. Another display of what Harper was brought to Philadelphia to be and do. Another step toward where he wants to be.

(Photo: Heather Barry / Getty Images)

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